topic Re: Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7 in BladeSystem - General

Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7

MBSNL — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:44:06 GMT

I run the "HP BladeSystem Matrix 6.3
Compatibility Chart" versions of the Firmware and Drivers (http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02856586/c02856586.pdf).

I run Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition.

I have configured:

The Server Profile with 6x E-NIC en 2x iSCSI Accelerated and assigned the profile to Device Bay 1 (no FCoE configured).
Only the default onboard NC553i Dual Port is in this server.
2x Flex-10 is in Interconnect Bay 1 & 2.
The iSCSI Network Profile has Smart Uplink set to disabled (unchecked).
iSCSI Boot bas been disabled.

Question:

In the NCU, why do I only see 6x E-NIC and no iSCSI NIC? And I also do not see the iSCSI tab in the NCU.

I do see the two iSCSI adapters in the Windows Device Manager under Storage Controllers.

Re: Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7

mwalkertx320 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:40:15 GMT

I'm having the same issue.

Was this ever resolved? I've spent the last 2 days with HP and I don't think they know their product.

Re: Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7

MBSNL — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:30:28 GMT

Download "Emulex OneCommand Manager" for the NC553i here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=4324630&prodTypeId=329290&prodSeriesId=4324629&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=4064#93231

Tip: Make sure that after installation you can only use it locally, so make sure you turn off the "remote control/remote admin" option. You can find the security settings in the File>Options menu.

However... we are still in doubt:

What should we use. HBA mode (with OneCommand) of NIC mode (with NCU but without iSCSI acceleration). I am sorry that I don't have a definitife answer yet. Both have advantages and disadvantages. One thing: When you want to boot from SAN, only one option available: Use OneCommand and Flex-10 Server Profile configuration utilities.

Re: Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7

Hongjun Ma — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:09:10 GMT

Please check VC iSCSI cookbook for how to config VC and CNA for H/W iSCSI.

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02533991/c02533991.pdf

If you use H/W iSCSI, you can use Emulex OneCommand manager to manage iSCSI HBA. The details are discussed in the white paper.

Re: Flex-10 Accelerated iSCSI on BL460c G7

Lionel_Jullien — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:20:32 GMT

Do not confuse between hardware and software iSCSI initiators.

Accelerated iSCSI always uses a specific port (i.e. host bus adapters) and require a utility from the HBA vendor (i.e. Emulex OneConnect Manager). Accelerated iSCSI is enabled when the iSCSI HBA section under the Virtual Connect profile is used.

So you cannot use the HP Network Configuration Utility (NCU) to manage and configure iSCSI HBAs. NCU can only manage the NIC ports. So in order to manage and assign an IP address to your iSCSI HBA ports (mandatory to connect iSCSI volumes) you need to install the OneCommand Manager utility from Emulex.

For more information about OneCommand Manager, refer to the User Manual of the Emulex OneCommand Manager

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/supportmanual/c02018556/c02018556.pdf

OneCommand Manager can be installed by HP System Update Manager (HP SUM) but it can as well be downloaded from the web:
1/ From the Support and Driver hp.com web page, enter a Blade model, for example: BL460 G7
2/ Then select the operating system
3/ click on the Utility – FC HBA section
4/ Then download and install the OneCommand Manager Application Kit

Then launch the OneCommand utility from Windows start menu / All Programs / Emulex / OCManager

Once under OCManager, click on each iSCSI ports detected on your server to set a static or DHCP IP address.

When all this is done, you must use the Microsoft iSCSI initiator with MPIO to manage the multipath connection to the storage volumes.